Prepress systems vendors have been crowing about their relative successes in a review of ink-saving technologies presented to the IPA Technical Conference in Chicago last week. Ink savings varied from 17 to 30 per cent, but since the IPA’s idea of ‘typical print production scenarios’ was an eight-colour Roland sheetfed press using Sappi’s McCoy paper, we’re not sure how much relevance that will have for commercial web and especially newspaper printers. The 2010 round-up study – led by Dr Abhay Sharma of Ryerson University and Ben Starr – compared systems to assess total ink reduction, colour change, stability on press and file integrity. IPA is selling copies of its report in printed form, including printed samples. Systems reviewed (in alpha oprder) came from Agfa, Alwan, Beijing Founder, CGS, FineEye, GMG, Kodak, OneVision, ppi Media and TGLC. The group says test results indicated that ink optimisation works, with systems able to process files in real time, lower CMY values, reduce ink consumption on press, and retain colourimetric accuracy and visual similarity to the original.